Exhaled Nitric Oxide in a Taiwanese Population: Age and Lung Function as Predicting Factors

Background/Purpose

The fractional concentration of exhaled nitric oxide (FE_NO) has been reported to be elevated in asthma and many other lung diseases. The present study investigated reference values and determinants of FE_NO in a Taiwanese non-smoking, healthy adult population.

Methods

We used a chemiluminescence analyzer according to American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society recommendations to measure FE_NO values in 356 adults who received a health check-up and a detailed respiratory questionnaire at Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan. Among the volunteers, 249 fulfilled our definition of healthy adults: no history of smoking or physician-diagnosed asthma; no recent upper airway infection; no chronic respiratory symptoms; and no allergic rhinitis and urticaria.

Results

Among the 249 non-smoking and non-asthmatic adults, the mean (5^th to 95^th percentile reference range) FE_NO was 27.9 (12.5–58.0) parts per billion. In multivariate regression analyses, age and lung function (forced vital capacity or forced expiratory volume in 1 second) were associated positively with FE_NO values. Sex, height, weight, and ambient NO values were not associated significantly with FE_NO values.

Conclusion

Age and lung function were predictors of FE_NO in this population, and these factors should be considered for clinical applications of FE_NO measurements.

Key Words:  age , nitric oxide , pulmonary function tests , reference values

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